Al Jazeera preparing legal response to ‘dangerous’ government decision to shutter outlet in Israel

Illustrative: An employee of Al Jazeera walks past the channel's logo at its headquarters in Doha, Qatar, in 2006. (AP/ Kamran Jebreili, File)
Illustrative: An employee of Al Jazeera walks past the channel's logo at its headquarters in Doha, Qatar, in 2006. (AP/ Kamran Jebreili, File)

The head of Al Jazeera in Israel and the Palestinian territories describes the government decision to shutter the Qatari-owned station’s local operations as “dangerous” and motivated by politics rather than professional considerations.

Al Jazeera’s legal team is preparing a response, Walid Omary tells Reuters, in a possible anticipation of a court appeal against the decision.

Earlier, the government unanimously authorized the shuttering of Al Jazeera’s news network operations in Israel, in line with a law passed by the Knesset in April.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi is now empowered to order Israel’s television providers to cease broadcasting Al Jazeera; order the channel’s Israeli offices to be closed; confiscate the channel’s equipment, possibly including cellphones; and block access to Al Jazeera’s website.

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